Daily Archives: May 30, 2015

In answer to some questions about the back seat of the ZOE I did some experimentation on the fitting of car seats and head restraints (‘headrests’).

A large child’s car seat fitted in the rear of our Renault ZOE (Image: T. Larkum)

Our youngest daughter used a tall car seat in the back of the ZOE until she was about 11. I don’t know if it’s generally the case, but the seat we had (a ‘Concord Lift’ about 10 years old) fitted fine so long as the respective headrest was removed from the ZOE’s back rest. Then the seat fitted well, flush with the back of the backseat.

A large child’s car seat fitted in the rear of our Renault ZOE (Image: T. Larkum)

With regard to head restraints the ZOE has two for the outer positions on the back seat. Renault certainly provides the option for a third, central one, for example as part of the Luxe Pack. What is not clear is if this can be a post-delivery or even DIY option.

Today, after attending a customer test drive at a Renault dealership, I called into the parts office and enquired about buying just a head restraint. For that I was quoted £21.36 plus VAT (making £25.63) which seemed like a very reasonable price. Unfortunately there was not one in stock so I couldn’t see what parts were included.

The back seat zips are tucked into the corner as highlighted (Image: T. Larkum)

At home I was curious to learn more and so took apart the back of the seat. The back is held on with two zips. To make things a bit more difficult – presumably to discourage fiddling – the zips don’t have handles on them, and the loose ends are tucked into the hole formed where the zips come together. With a bit of patience it’s possible to pull out the ends of the zips and open them.

Inside the back seat showing an existing head restraint, left, and the fittings waiting for a central head restraint, right (Image: T. Larkum)

Inside the back of the seat it is clear that there are structural tube supports for a central head restraint so it should be straightforward to fit one, though of course it would be necessary to pierce the fabric on the top edge (which appears seamless otherwise). A bit more investigation is required, however, to find out if all the parts required for DIY fitting are included in the standard part set – for example, the plastic liners to the tube supports (these can be seen for the existing head restraint but are not in place for the central one).